Floating device for submarine working vehicles

ABSTRACT

A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, which comprises two floating tanks mounted on the body of the submarine working vehicle, each of said floating tanks having the interior thereof divided into a plurality of independent pressure air chambers, each of said pressure air chambers having a pressure air discharge conduit connected to the upper portion and a manhole provided at the lower portion thereof, said manhole being communicated with a pressure air supply conduit, and each of said conduits being provided with a valve by which the quantity of pressure air in the floating tank is adjusted so as to float the submarine working vehicle.

United States Patent [54] FLOATING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINE WORKING VEHICLES 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S.Cl ll4/16E, 61/69 R [51] Int. Cl 863g 8/00 [50] Field of Search 61/69 R;

114/16 R, 16E, 16.7,52, 16.8,0.5 D

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,500,648 3/1970 Daniell 61/69 R 3,537,412 11/1970 Henderson l14/O.5 D

Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix Attorney-Craig, Antonelli, Stewart & Hill ABSTRACT: A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, which comprises two floating tanks mounted on the body of the submarine working vehicle, each of said floating tanks having the interior thereof divided into a plurality of independent pressure air chambers, each of said pressure air chambers having a pressure air discharge conduit connected to the upper portion and a manhole provided at the lower portion thereof, said manhole being communicated with a pressure air supply conduit, and each of said conduits being provided with a valve by which the quantity of pressure air in the floating tank is adjusted so as to float the submarine working vehicle.

PATENIEI] mu 1 I972 3.6331530 INVENTORS TOSHIO MURATA AND ATSUSW YASU\ BY Cvoi Qnlzonaiii, Skewovt 4 ATTORNEYS FLOATING DEVICE FOR SUBMARINE WORKING VEHICLES BACKGROUND OF THe INVENTION The present invention relates to a floating device for submarine working vehicles used in the construction of a harbor, the undersea development, the leveling of the seabed, etc.

SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION The object of the invention is to provide a floating device for a submarine working vehicle, which is so constructed that the floating and sinking speeds of the submarine working vehicle can be adjusted and also the contact pressure of the sub marine working vehicle with the seabed can easily be adjusted, whereby the working efficiency in the construction of a harbor, the undersea development or the leveling of the seabed by the submarine working vehicle is enhanced.

The floating device of the invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a submarine working vehicle equipped with the device of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the submarine working vehicle; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 designates a body of a submarine working vehicle, 2 a travelling machine mounted on the body 1 of the working vehicle, and 3 a working machine such, for example, as a bulldozer blade, connected to the front portion of the body 1. A driving equipment for the travelling machine 2 and an operating equipment for the working machine 3 are operated by a power supplied thereto from a source of driving power through cables 4 led into the body I, which source of driving power is mounted on a mother ship (not shown). Reference numerals 5a, 5b designate floating tanks mounted on the body 1. These floating tanks 5a, 5b are constructed in the shape of a cylinder having round ends, from the standpoint of production and water resistance during travelling, and are mounted on the body 1 side by side in parallel to the travelling direction of the vehicle. Since the floating tanks 5a, 5b are identical in construction, the construction of the floating tank 5a only will be described hereunder with reference to FIG. 3. As seen in FIG. 3, the interior of the floating tank 511 is divided by a main partition wall 60 into two compartments, and these two compartments are further divided by auxiliary partition walls 6b, 60 into two pressure air chambers 7a, 7b and 7c, 7d respectively. These partition walls 6a-6c simultaneously serve the functions of transmitting a force and effectively reinforcing the tanks when the tanks support the weight of the submarine working vehicle by the buoyancy thereof, as well as the function of dispersing the shock of water within the tanks when the vehicle is started or stopped. Reference numerals 8a8d designate manholes provided at the bottom of the tank, each for each of the pressure air chambers 7a-7d, and projecting a desired distance a from the bottom surface of the tank. The manholes 8a-8d provide for free passage of water and pressure air into and from the respective pressure air chambers 7a-7d, and also provide openings through which a worker goes into and comes out from said chambers at the time of fabrication and repair work. The projecting distance a of the manholes 8a-3d is so selected as to ensure that the quantity of the pressure air in each chamber will not decrease when the tank is inclined during operation of the submarine working vehicle on a sloped surface. Reference numeral 9 designates a pressure air supply conduit connected to the peripheral wall of the manhole 8a, and numeral 10 designates another pressure air supply conduit connected to peripheral wall of the manhole 8d. As shown in Fig. 2, these pressure air supply conduits 9, 10 extend upwardly along the outer peripheral surface of the tank 511 and connected to a coupling conduit 11 fixed to the upper portions of the tanks 5a, 5b at the opposite ends. The coupling conduit 11 is connected to a pressure air supply conduit 12 which in turn is connected to a pressure air tank mounted on the mother ship and is bundled together with the cables 4 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pressure air supply conduit 12 is provided with a pressure air regulating valve (not shown) at a location adjacent the pressure air tank on the mother ship, which pressure air regulating valve is operated by an operator on the mother ship. By adjusting the area of the opening of the pressure air regulating valve, the submarine working vehicle can be floated at a desired speed. Reference numeral 13 designates a throttle valve provided in the pressure air supply conduit 9 adjacent the manhole 8a, and numeral 14 designates a throttle valve provided in the pressure air supply conduit 10 adjacent the manhole 8d. These throttle valves l3, l4 serve to equalize the quantities of pressure air introduced into the respective pressure air chambers 7a7d. Reference numeral 15 designates a pressure air discharge conduit having a pressure air discharge valve 16 provided therein. The pressure air discharge conduit 15 is diverged into conduits 15a and 15b, and the conduit 15a is communicated with the pressure air chamber 712 and the conduit 1511 with the pressure air chamber 7a, at the upper portion of the tank 5a. Reference numeral 17 designates a similar pressure air discharge conduit having a pressure air discharge valve 18 provided therein. The pressure air discharge conduit 17 is diverged into conduits 17a and 17b, and the conduit 17a is communicated with the pressure air chamber and the conduit 17b with the pressure air chamber 711, at the upper portion of the tank 5a. By adjusting the areas of the openings of the pressure air discharge valves l6, 18, the submarine working vehicle can be sunk at a desired speed. Reference numeral 19 designates a plurality of pressure air quantity detecting cocks or plugs arranged vertically on a side surface of the tank 5a. The opening and closing operations of the throttle valves 13, 14, the pressure air discharge valves 16, 18 and the pressure air quantity detecting cocks 19 are ad justed by a diver under water or by electrical means.

Next, the operation of the floating device of this invention will be described hereunder:

Suppose that the submarine working vehicle is floating on the surface of water, with a suitable quantity of pressure air being held in each of the pressure air chambers 7a-7d of the floating tanks 5a, 5b. In this state, the pressure air regulating valve on the mother ship is closed and the pressure air discharge valves l6, 18 of the tanks 5a, 5b are opened, whereupon water is admitted into the pressure air chambers 7a-7d of the tanks 5a, 5b through the manholes 8a-8d and thus the submarine working vehicle sinks onto the seabed. In this case, the sinking speed of the submarine working vehicle can be adjusted as desired, by previously adjusting the degree of opening of the pressure air discharge valves l6, 18. On the seabed, the submarine working vehicle is operated according to an instruction given thereto from the mother ship, to perform a desired work in the construction of a harbor, etc. Where, in the process of work under water, a smooth travel of the submarine working vehicle cannot be obtained due to the condition of the seabed, e.g., the weakness of the seabed, the pressure air regulating valve on the mother ship is opened, after closing the pressure air discharge valves 16, 18, to introduce a suitable quantity of pressure air from the pressure air tank into each of the pressure air chambers 7a-7d of the tanks 5a, 5b through the pressure air supply conduits l2, 9 and 10. As a result, the contact pressure of the travelling machine 2 of the submarine working vehicle with the seabed is varied by the pressure air supplied into the pressure air chambers and a smooth travel of the vehicle on the seabed can be obtained. In this case, the quantities of pressure air supplied into the respective chambers 7a-7d can be known from the degrees of opening of the pressure air quantity detecting cock I9.

For floating the submarine working vehicle from the seabed, the pressure air discharge valves l6, 18 are closed and then the pressure air regulating valve on the mother ship is slowly opened, whereupon the pressure air in the pressure air tank on the mother ship is uniformly flows into the pressure air chambers 7a-7d from the manholes 8a8d through the pressure air supply conduits 12, 9 and 10. The pressure air chambers are filled with pressure air uniformly, even if there is a slight difference in the rate of supply of pressure air into the respective chambers. When the pressure air chambers 7a-7d are supplied with the quantity of pressure air corresponding to the weight of the submarine working vehicle, the submarine working vehicle has a buoyancy imparted thereto by the pressure air and floats to the surface of the sea. The floating speed ofthe submarine working vehicle can be adjusted by means of the pressure air regulating valve on the mother ship.

The pressure air can be supplied into the pressure air chambers 7a7d of the tanks a, 5b by manipulating the pressure air regulating valve, even when the submarine working vehicle is rocked on the surface of the sea by high waves and the pressure air in said pressure air chambers escapes therefrom through the manholes 8a8d. Thus, it is possible to keep the submarine working vehicle floating on the surface of the sea.

By employing the device of the present invention, it is possi ble to adjust the floating and sinking speeds of the submarine working vehicle, to transport the vehicle while keeping it afloat, to set the vehicle free from a dangerous portion on the seabed and to adjust the contact pressure of the vehicle with the seabed easily. Therefore, the present invention is advantageous, not only in enhancing the safety of the submarine working vehicle but also in markedly enhancing the efficiency of the works, such as the construction of a harbor and the leveling of the seabed.

We claim:

1. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, comprising two floating tanks mounted on a body of the submarine working vehicle and each having the interior thereof divided into a plurality of independent pressure air chambers, a pressure air discharge means provided at the upper portion of each of said pressure air chambers manhole means including a peripheral wall projecting from the lower portion of each of said pressure air chambers, a pressure air supply means connected to the lower portion of each of said pressure air chambers and a pressure air quantity detecting means provided on a sidewall of said floating tan ks.

2. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure air supply means includes a pressure air supply conduit extending from the peripheral wall of said manhole means and communicated with a pressure air tank and a pressure air regulating valve on a mother ship and having a throttle valve provided therein adjacent said manhole means, and said pressure air discharge means includes a pressure air discharge conduit connected to the upper portion of said pressure air chamber and having a pressure air discharge valve.

3. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure air quantity detecting means consists ofa plurality of cocks projecting from the sidewall of said floating tank. 

1. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, comprising two floating tanks mounted on a body of the submarine working vehicle and each having the interior thEreof divided into a plurality of independent pressure air chambers, a pressure air discharge means provided at the upper portion of each of said pressure air chambers manhole means including a peripheral wall projecting from the lower portion of each of said pressure air chambers, a pressure air supply means connected to the lower portion of each of said pressure air chambers and a pressure air quantity detecting means provided on a sidewall of said floating tanks.
 2. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure air supply means includes a pressure air supply conduit extending from the peripheral wall of said manhole means and communicated with a pressure air tank and a pressure air regulating valve on a mother ship and having a throttle valve provided therein adjacent said manhole means, and said pressure air discharge means includes a pressure air discharge conduit connected to the upper portion of said pressure air chamber and having a pressure air discharge valve.
 3. A floating device for a submarine working vehicle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure air quantity detecting means consists of a plurality of cocks projecting from the sidewall of said floating tank. 